W Mids - Dawn Convoy to the A52 Lunch Meet - 13TH OCTOBER

[niwid]

I imagine a lot of you will have seen or heard of the 'Area 52 Classic & Retro Lunch Club', that Bruce and the gang have organised for Sunday October 13th. For those that haven't, it's a 'not to be missed' RR meet, taking place in Bristol. The days starts with a spectacular 'proper classics' meet, ends with a trip to somewhere beautiful for photos, with awesome food from a retro Airstream caravan in the middle. Read more here. It's brilliant day out, from start to finish.

I think we all know what this calls for...



WARNING: If the thought of getting up before 6am on a Sunday makes you feel sick, this probably isn't for you

However, if you are feeling brave, and adventurous, we will be gathering at the McDonalds, just off Junction 5 of the M5 (near Bromsgrove/Droitwich). The Bristol brigade are meeting at another McDonalds near to Bristol town centre, before the classics meet, and we plan to arrive in time to join them. We will be at Droitwich Maccies at 5:30 am. Yes, that's A M, half past five, in the morning, on a Sunday. It does exist. We will be leaving for Bristol at around 6 am. This should give us enough time to drive up, at a steady 55/60mph, allowing for at least one short break in case anyone brings a Triumph.

The drive up, should be serene enough. Generally speaking, the motorway's are quiet and clear, the sun will be starting it's day-long journey through the sky, and all the BMW and Audi drivers will be asleep, ignoring their horrible wives, brewing a really painful hangover (I had an 'Audi encounter' today! )

Anyone is welcome, so if you fancy joining us, make sure you get to bed on time on Saturday the 12th, and set your alarms to 'f***ing early' for the Sunday. We're a friendly bunch, so bring your motor down and join us for a fantastic day out.

I'm really looking forward to it.

You should be too

[emma20]

Damn I forgot it was that date! Hmm looks like ill be getting my shift covered

[brock05]

I'm in. Is it wrong to be considering first breakfast at the Wychbold McDonald's as well as the Official Bristol one?

[PHUQ]

I'll be heading down from M5 J13, so will look out for you folks!

[niwid]

Aug 27, 2013 18:58:24 GMT brock05 said:

I'm in. Is it wrong to be considering first breakfast at the Wychbold McDonald's as well as the Official Bristol one?

Not unless someone made having great ideas wrong. Hmmmm....

[MrOtter]

I would have been up for joining you on this, but I'm going to Pendine Sands on the Saturday for this --> www.vhra.co.uk/VHRA/Pendine_Sands.html so I'm just going to stop over in Bristol overnight rather than coming back up to the Midlands just to go down south again the next morning for the lunch club. I'll see you guys at the McDonalds in Bristol!

[Mystery Machine]

^See you on the beach then MrOtter^

I'm heading down to Pembrokeshire on the Friday morning for a day scouring the coast (just got back from four days there) then an early start on the beach for a full days photography.

Hopefully back in Bristol not too late Saturday night ready for the big meet on Sunday. I guess I'd better try and be there?

[Brian Damaged]

I'd have doubled the BX quota, but unfortunately I'm going on holiday the day before.

[spark68]

might be able to make this ?

[MrSpeedy]

I really do fancy this, but I just cannot get myself and my two kids up at that time of day night! In fact, I don't believe I've ever gotten up at that time. Ever! Not even when working at a wholesale veg market

I'm sure you'll all have a good day tho

[niwid]

This weekend is gonna be fun

[niwid]

So, Sunday is nearly here, and I'm praying that a few of you will join us nutters, and make the early start worthwhile. If this is a success, I will organise another Convoy for next months meet.

Buzzing

[niwid]

Oh my god it's SO early!

[spark68]

Sept 6, 2013 9:54:32 GMT niwid said:

So, Sunday is nearly here, and I'm praying that a few of you will join us nutters, and make the early start worthwhile. If this is a success, I will organise another Convoy for next months meet.

Buzzing

do you do this each month ,couldn't make this garage has had car over a week trying to get a clutch ,I sorted one out in ten minutes but cant get it until Monday typical

[niwid]

Sept 8, 2013 8:24:00 GMT spark68 said:

Sept 6, 2013 9:54:32 GMT niwid said:

So, Sunday is nearly here, and I'm praying that a few of you will join us nutters, and make the early start worthwhile. If this is a success, I will organise another Convoy for next months meet.

Buzzing

do you do this each month ,couldn't make this garage has had car over a week trying to get a clutch ,I sorted one out in ten minutes but cant get it until Monday typical

We should be doing this next month too yes. Emma and I have only just got back, after a really enjoyable day out. We will get pictures up tonight or tomorrow.

[niwid]

The only photo I have to hand at the moment, is this photo, of the dawn breaking over the hills outside Worcester. It was a stunning morning

[spark68]

bet it was a great day really wanted to go to this

[ChasR]

As above really. It was certainly full of promise.

[niwid]

So, I thought I’d share with you all how the day went down for Emma and I. Excuse the phone pictures. An unfortunate incident, involving a dog and some spilt coffee, has left us without a half decent camera

5:30 am and we’re at the Pit Stop Cafe.



Sadly, we were the only ones to turn up  6 ‘o’clock came and went, so we decided to pop down the road to McDonalds and grab an early brekkie before setting off for Bristol. I’m not a big McDonalds fan, but their breakfast, in my opinion, is on another level to the cheeseburgers and fries!



After getting some McCoffee and McBreakfast McWraps down our necks, we hit the M5, bound for Bristol. It’s very strange driving round at this time in the morning. Most people are in bed, very few people are on the roads and the air still feels moist, and fresh with the morning dew. At first we honestly thought the dawn was a bit of a disapointment. The clouds seemed to mostly cover up the first of the days rays, however, after half an hour or so of not-nightness, the big orange circle broke free of the cloud cover in rather spectacular fashion.





At around 7:45, we arrive at our second set of Golden arches, in Bedminster, where the car park is also completely empty! Luckily, after 5 minutes or so, Bruces big ol’ Daimler comes rumbling through the gate, and is soon followed by a small selection of cool old motors. We’re in good company! After a second coffee, and colouring in some smurfs with wax crayons, we left for Queens Square.















































The cars on show really were fantastic. All sorts of cars were parked up around the very posh central square. The weather, location, and the quality of vintage metal on show made for a very enjoyable morning, with plenty to look at and talk about.
After another two coffees, and several hours mooching round the classics, we made our way to the Diner. What can I say. It’s a seriously cool little place, and the food was top notch. They weren’t doing the burgers that the Area 52 guys had been raving about, but the Chilli Dogs were tasty enough. I managed to get a few more shots of the diner and surrounding streets.











For those hoping to make the next meet, beware of the speed bump at the top of the hill. It has those horrible one-way spikes on top, and everyone with a lowish car was cringing with dread as they crept over it. It actually ripped one side of the exhaust system from Bruces Daimler, which unfortunately meant he had to cable tie it back up and put the beast back to bed for the day. The V8 did sound incredible with no exhaust though



With our bellies full, and after a trip to Sainsburys, we headed south, to finish the day at Cheddar Gorge. I’d never been there before, but I’ll definitely be going back. It’s really rather spectacular, and a fantastic backdrop for some photos of some tatty old motors! This is where the battery in the phone ran out, so I only managed to capture a couple of shots. Everyone else took loads though, so expect to see more elsewhere.







Emma and I didn’t stay long. We’d already been up 12 hours, and a restless night meant we had only gotten 2 or 3 hours sleep. We were walking zombies for most of the day, but we really were crashing by the time everyone else wanted to head up to the cafe. We said our goodbyes and headed home.

In all, a properly good day out. Apart from the horrendously early start, it’s everything you could possibly wish for in a car meet, and I sincerely hope a few of you join Emma and I next month.

I told you, you missed out!

[sowen]

Oh wow! Looks like it was a fun trip out